Coronavirus India News Highlights: Total tally in Maharashtra tops 11,000; Over 7,600 cases in Mumbai alone

I welcome the announcements by the Chief of Defence Staff today. India has waged a strong fight against COVID-19 due to courageous frontline warriors who have cared and cured many. They are spectacular. India applauds them and their families.

Our Armed Forces have always kept the nation safe. Even in times of disasters, they are out there helping people. Now, our Forces are, in a unique way, saying a big thank you to our frontline COVID-19 warriors for their endeavour towards making India COVID-19 free.

82 more persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Rajasthan taking the total number of cases to 2666; 62 deaths due to the virus recorded in state till date.

1008 new COVID-19 positive cases reported in Maharashtra today, taking the total number of cases to 11,506.

Sale of liquor, paan, tobacco to be allowed after ensuring minimum six-feet social distancing; not over 5 persons at one time at shop.

Consumption of liquor, paan, gutka, tobacco etc. is not allowed in public places during lockdown.

Aarogya Setu app must for people living in COVID-19 containment zones

Industrial andconstruction activities in rural areas

# MNREGA works, food processing and brick kilns

# All agriculture activity permitted

# Animal husbandry fully permitted

# All health services to be fullyfunctional

# Plying of cycle rickshaws and auto rickshaws; running of taxis and cab aggregators; intra-district and inter-district plying of buses; and, barber shops, spas and salons.

#E-Commerce activities, in the Red Zones, are permitted only in respect of essential goods

#Private offices can operate with up to 33% strength as per requirement, with the remaining persons working from home

Public transport allowed in Green Zones, not in red or orange. In Green Zones, buses can operate with up to 50% seating capacity and bus depots can operate with up to 50% capacity.

Travel by air, rail, metro and inter-State movement by road;

running of schools, colleges, and other educational and training/ coaching institutions;

hospitality services, including hotels and restaurants;

places of large public gatherings, such as cinema halls, malls, gymnasiums, sports complexes etc;

social, political, cultural and other kinds of gatherings; and, religious places/ places of worship for public

The Green Zones will be districts with either zero confirmed cases till date; or, no confirmed case in the last 21 days. The classification of districts as Red Zones will take into account the total number of active cases, doubling rate of confirmed cases, extent of testing and surveillance feedback from the districts. Those districts, which are neither defined as Red nor Green, shall be classified as Orange zones.

The classification of districts into Red, Green and Orange Zones will be shared by MoHFW with the States and Union Territories (UTs) on a weekly basis, or earlier, as required.

While States and UTs can include additional districts as Red and Orange Zones, they may not lower the classification of a district included by MoHFW in the list of Red or Orange Zones.

MHA also issued new guidelines to regulate different activities in this period, based on the risk profiling of the districts of the country into Red (hotspot), Green and Orange Zones. The guidelines have permitted considerable relaxations in the districts falling in the Green and Orange Zones.

Ministry of Home Affairs issues order under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 to further extend the lockdown for a further period of two weeks beyond May 4.

As a gesture of gratitude and solidarity for our frontline warriers (doctors, other medical health care professionalsdelivery persons for essential services, media, etc), on May 3, the IAF will be do a fly pass across the length and breadth of the country (from Srinagar to Thiruvanathapuram; and from Dibrugarh to Kutch). Besides, helicopters will shower petals over hospitals.

The Navy will light up the ships and make formations, while the Indian Army will do mount back displays along the COVID hospitals of the nation, and lay the wreath at the Police Memorial.